DANGER.
“Down!” Kaelen roared.
In a fraction of a second, Kaelen’s instincts took over.
He immediately grabbed Soren by the waist and threw both of them flat against the snow-covered rock wall just as a black steel crossbow bolt whistled through the air, shattering against the stone right where Soren’s head had been a second prior.
The sharp crack echoed down the canyon.
“Northern Pack scouts,” Kaelen hissed, his entire demeanor shifting instantly from agonized lover to lethal Alpha predator.
He drew his massivesword with a heavy, metallic CLANG, stepping directly in front of Soren to shield him with his broad body.
Above them, on the high rocky ledges overlooking the narrow path, six shadowy figures emerged from the blowing snow.
They were massive, heavily armored wolf-shifters clad in dark iron and thick grey furs—the vanguard of Boran’s hunting party.
“Look at that,” the lead scout sneered, his voice a guttural growl that cut through the wind.
“The grand Commander of the Citadel, chained to a little runaway spell-cutter like a dog on a leash.
Lord Boran offers a heavy bounty for the spell-cutter’s head.
The Alpha is optional.”
Kaelen’s eyes flared into a brilliant, terrifying gold.
A low, thunderous growl rumbled deep in his chest—a sound so dominant and primal that the snowy ground beneath their feet seemed to vibrate.
“Touch him,” Kaelen warned, his voice icy and calm with absolute lethality, “and I will paint this mountain with your blood.”
“Kill them both!” the scout barked.
Four warriors leaped down from the high rocks, their iron swords drawn, landing heavily on the narrow icy ledge but two more still remained on the high rocks, reloading their crossbows.
“Soren, stay behind me!” Kaelen commanded, bringing his sword up into a defensive stance.
“We are chained together, you arrogant fool!” Soren yelled back, drawing a thin, silver-hilted daggers from his belt and reaching into his pouch for a fistful of spell-dust.
“If you move left, I have to move left!
We fight together, or we fall off this cliff together!”
Kaelen glanced back at him, seeing the fierce, unbreakable fire in Soren’s bright blue eyes.
A dark, wicked smirk touched Kaelen’s lips—the absolute confidence of an Alpha who knew his mate was standing at his back.
“Don’t fall behind, spell-cutter,” Kaelen growled softly.
“Don’t miss, Commander,” Soren shot back.
The first two Northern Pack warriors charged.
On the narrow ledge, there was no room for standard combat maneuvers so every strike had to be precise, every dodge calculated.
The moment the first warrior swung a heavy battleaxe toward Kaelen’s head, Kaelen parried the blow with a shower of orange sparks from his sword.
Because of the three-foot chain, Soren moved instantly in sync with Kaelen’s body.
As Kaelen pushed the attacker back with his shield, Soren ducked under Kaelen’s raised arm, stepping smoothly beside him.
Soren threw his hand forward, throwing a handful of crushed blue phosphorus into the air.
“Ignis Ventus!” Soren shouted.
A bright, sudden burst of magical fire erupted from Soren’s palm, blasting directly into the second warrior’s face.
The warrior screamed, blindingly stumbling backward over the edge of the cliff and plunging into the misty abyss below.
“Behind us!” Soren yelled, feeling a sudden pulse of air movement through his magic.
Kaelen didn’t even turn to look.
The pull dragged Soren safely into Kaelen’s back, shielding him as a third warrior’s blade sliced through the air right where Soren had been standing.
Kaelen spun on his heel, using the momentum of the pull to drive his gigantic sword straight through the warrior’s iron chestplate.
The coordination was terrifyingly flawless.
They weren’t fighting as two separate men tied together by a curse.
The mate-bond linked their nervous systems, allowing them to predict each other’s movements seconds before they happened.
When Kaelen shifted his weight, Soren instinctively stepped into the opening.
When Soren drew breath to cast a spell, Kaelen moved his body to cover Soren’s exposed side.
It was an electric, deadly dance.
Soren’s heart raced, not with fear, but with a wild, intoxicating thrill, and every time his back brushed against Kaelen’s solid chest, every time their arms crossed as they fought off the attackers, the chemistry between them burned hot enough to melt the surrounding ice.
“The snipers above!” Soren gasped out, ducking as another crossbow bolt embedded itself into the rock wall near his shoulder.
“I can’t reach them with fire from here—the wind is too strong!”
Kaelen blocked another heavy sword strike, kicking the remaining warrior off the ledge into the snow.
He wiped a streak of dark blood from his jaw, his golden eyes snapping up to the high rock ledge where the two crossbowmen were taking aim.
“I can get you up there,” Kaelen said, his voice deep and dark.
Soren looked at him in disbelief.
“What?”
“Trust me, Soren,” Kaelen growled.
He sheathed his broadsword in one swift motion, reaching down and wrapping both of his massive hands securely around Soren’s waist.
Before Soren could protest, Kaelen flexed his legs, using the full, terrifying physical strength of a High Alpha wolf, and launched Soren upward into the air.
Soren flew straight up onto the higher rock ledge, landing on his feet in the deep snow right in front of the two stunned crossbowmen.
The chain stretched taut beneath him, binding him to Kaelen on the lower path.
“Now, Soren!” Kaelen roared from below, holding the bottom of the chain tight to anchor him.
Soren didn’t hesitate.
He pulled two flask bottles from his belt, smashed them together in his hands, and slammed his glowing palms directly into the snowy ledge.
“Fracta Petra!”
A blinding wave of pale blue shock-magic ripped through the rock shelf and the stone beneath the two crossbowmen cracked violently, disintegrating into dust.
The two warriors let out startled yells as the cliff edge collapsed, carrying them down into the rocky ravine below.
Silence descended over the mountain ridge.
The wind howled loudly once more, blowing clouds of fine white snow over the frozen battlefield.
On the high rock shelf, Soren stood breathing heavily, his blonde hair wildly blown by the wind, his hands glowing with fading blue magic.
On the lower path, Kaelen stood with his big sword drawn, his iron chestplate dusted with white frost, and his face flushed red from the exertion.
They stared at each other across the vertical distance, connected only by the taut, glowing chain between their wrists.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.
The sheer adrenaline of the fight faded, leaving behind a raw, breathless intensity that made the air between them feel hot enough to burn.
Soren looked down at Kaelen, his chest heaving, his blue eyes searching Kaelen’s face.
He had seen the way Kaelen fought—not like an arrogant noble, but like a man who would gladly tear down the mountain itself to keep Soren safe.
“Come down, Soren,” Kaelen said softly, his deep voice carrying over the wind, stripped of all aggression, leaving only a quiet, desperate warmth.
“Please.”
Soren didn’t argue.
He slid down the rock face, dropping onto the lower path.
Before he could regain his footing on the slippery ice, Kaelen stepped forward and caught him.
Kaelen’s large, strong hands wrapped securely around Soren’s upper arms, pulling him close against his chest to steady him.
Soren’s hands came up, resting flat against Kaelen’s cold iron breastplate.
He could feel the rapid, frantic pounding of Kaelen’s heart beneath the metal—matching his own erratic pulse beat for beat.
They stood chest-to-chest in the deep snow, their breaths mingling in hot, white clouds in the freezing air.
“You’re unbelievable,” Kaelen murmured, his golden eyes softening as he stared down at Soren’s face, his fingers tightening slightly on Soren’s arms.
“A spell-cutter who leaps off cliffs and shatters stone cliffs ”
“And you are an idiot,” Soren whispered back, his voice shaking, though there was no anger left in his tone.
“Throwing me into the air like a ragdoll.”
“It worked,” Kaelen whispered, a faint, breathless smile touching his lips.
“It was reckless,” Soren rasped, his gaze dropping down to Kaelen’s mouth before snapping back up to his eyes.
“You could have pulled me down.”
“I would never let you fall,” Kaelen said softly, his voice dropping into a thick tone that made Soren’s knees feel weak.
“Never.”
Soren’s breath hitched in his throat.
The wall around his heart—the rational, cold wall he had spent hours building—crumbled into complete dust.
Standing here in the snow, covered in ash and blood, tied to a warrior who looked at him as if he were his entire world, Soren realized he was fighting a losing battle.
He wasn’t just falling for the Alpha.
He was already completely lost.
Soren didn’t pull away.
He stayed right where he was, wrapped in Kaelen’s heat, letting his gloved fingers linger against the cold iron of Kaelen’s chest as they looked up toward the high, treacherous peak of Frost-Pike Pass rising into the stormy sky above.
(^~^) Kaelen literally THROWING Soren onto the high rocks so he could shatter the cliff with his spell-dust?!
The synchronization!
The blind trust!
The chemistry between these two on that icy cliff was hotter than Soren’s magic!
Hehe!
And Soren finally admitting to himself that he’s completely lost?!
(•o•)!
They survived the scouts, but Frost-Pike Pass is still ahead of them!
Did you scream when Kaelen said “I would never let you fall”?!
Drop your favorite line from this chapter in the comments, add the book to your library, and don’t forget to drop a vote!
See you in Chapter 19!